Build and Maintain Student Demand for Asian Languages Education.
Most Australian students think studying Asian languages is too hard. But maths, science and English also require hard work: what needs to be changed is the widespread belief that language study is an elective, specialist option. Schools and universities should be encouraged to present multilingualism as basic to education as literacy, numeracy or computer skills15.
Many students believe that studying an Asian language will drag down their tertiary entrance score. This perceived disincentive needs to be removed:
- Students should be able to have their language subject results disregarded in tertiary entrance scores if they believe they will have a detrimental effect on their overall score
- Tertiary institutions should be required to maintain entrance quotas, accelerated study options and bursaries, HECS-waivers or discounts for students with advanced or sound proficiency in one of the target languages16
In-country study options should be re-thought and promoted to entice and motivate students, presenting them with opportunities to travel abroad safely and take part in enjoyable recreational and life experiences.
Schools, colleges and universities will be encouraged to develop and share ideas through the National Asian Languages Institute, and will be provided with funding to ensure students can access in-country learning opportunities at minimal personal cost.
Students need to be motivated also with regular evidence that they are making progress. All funded programs must be based around regular proficiency testing, but schools, colleges and universities must also be encouraged to build into their programs the opportunity for students to experience in practical terms advances in their spoken and written proficiency.
Schools teaching the target languages will be required to stream students according to their proficiency and needs. Assessment should be tailored to differentiate among streams and abilities and structured so that students in different streams are not competing with each other.
Rewards for student progress, such as recreational language resources and field trips, should be embedded at each level and within each stream. Maximum incentives should be provided to students to encourage them to qualify for advanced streams.
Footnotes
- Chart D1.2a Instruction time per subject as a percentage of total compulsory instruction time for 9-11 year olds (2006) Graph p. 416 Education at a Glance 2008, by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Go8LOTE Incentive Scheme (PDF 187k)